Symbiosis 18
New moon.
Edogawa Conan swallowed, "Grandpa..." He carefully considered his words, afraid to wake the old man from his short dream. Although the name "Saku" was not rare, it sounded different when it came from the mouth of the former landlord. The little detective followed the old man's words and asked, "Where's mom...?"
"Misako...?" It seemed that the child's voice of muttering about his mother touched the key point. The old man stroked Conan's cheek with his rough hands, and his tone was full of regret and pity, "Saku, don't blame her... It's really too hard to bear. She didn't mean to leave you..."
Misako...Ida Ko secretly wrote down this name. Perhaps this was the clue to finding the body wrapped in the quilt. The policeman quietly stood in front of the landlord's grandson who came back after drinking water, and waved his hand to ask the man with wide eyes to be silent. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kurokawa Chie step forward and signaled to Edogawa Conan with his mouth to let the child continue asking questions.
"Did she run away?" Edogawa Conan recited the words that Kurokawa Chie taught him in a somewhat dry voice, "I haven't seen my mother for a long time. My father said that it was because of me that my mother left home..."
"How is it possible!" The old man's hand on the child's shoulder suddenly tightened, but because of his old age, Edogawa Conan hardly felt the pain, "Misako... Why did Misako leave five years ago... Doesn't that guy know?!"
"He has been beating Misako... since before you were born," the landlord's hands were shaking slightly, "Do you remember? Once, just because she didn't tidy up the closet in time, he grabbed Misako's hair and slammed her against the wall. You were only two years old at the time. When I rushed in, she was still begging me to take you away and not let you see..."
"Misako is really suffering," Edogawa Conan almost felt the old man's guilt and sadness at close range. After a long period of chaos, the powerlessness from the past successfully brought him back to the old days. "Whether she did the right thing or the wrong thing, as long as Tadahiko is unhappy, she will be beaten, especially after drinking. He will hit Misako on the head with a bottle. Even in summer, she must wrap herself tightly..." Kurokawa Chie lowered her eyes, her face was still pale, but the little detective could see that her hands on her side were clenched. "The neighbors didn't dare to mess with Tadahiko. Misako could only cry to me, saying that because she was in a free love relationship against the family's arrangements, she couldn't go back to her parents' home. The Matsusaka family would not recognize her as a daughter. She had no job and could only rely on Tadahiko to support her..."
"I really want to help her, I really do," the old man hung his head, muttering to himself as if he was confessing, "but I don't have the ability... Every time Misako asked me where she could go after leaving home, I didn't know how to answer..." His eyes suddenly lit up, "But you are different, Saku."
"Misako mustered up the courage to leave because of you," Edogawa Conan felt something heavy pressing on his chest, and the old man's excited tone made him feel breathless, "She told me that every time Tadahiko hit her, you would rush forward, even though you were so young, you would bite and hit hard, and kept shouting 'Don't touch my mother'. You have always been a good child," Date Ko nodded unconsciously, "Misako said that she couldn't let Saku grow up in such an environment, she wanted to escape from Tadahiko..."
"But mom ran away alone..." Edogawa Conan's voice was frighteningly hoarse. He could continue acting by himself without the instructions of Kurokawa Chie. "That man is still beating me. He has been hurting me. Grandpa, it hurts so much..."
The old man's expression relaxed. "No, not anymore," he said with such certainty that people were shocked. "Zhongyan can't hurt you anymore."
"Why?" Edogawa Conan couldn't help but ask, "Why are you so sure?"
"He's dead," the old man smiled calmly and contentedly in front of Chie Kurokawa's understanding. "That day, I went to the apartment and planned to visit you under the pretext of collecting the rent. As soon as I entered the door, I saw the drunkard Tadahiko lying on the ground. He was already dead. He must have drunk too much. I hurried to the balcony to see if you were there—"
"Balcony?" Conan Edogawa was exchanging glances with Date Kou - the latter shook his head to indicate that no male body was found at the scene. The boy was stunned when he heard the location, "Saku... where was I?"
As if he didn't hear Edogawa Conan's change of words, the old man continued to talk to himself, "It was almost halfway through November, and Tadahiko would often lock you on the balcony when he got drunk." It was really freezing outdoors in Hokkaido in November. Edogawa Conan's face changed when he heard this, "I often picked you up when Tadahiko went out for a drink," he had a wry smile on his wrinkled face, "but that drunkard just couldn't stand seeing you doing well, no matter if he was sober or not. If he didn't see you when he got home, he would make a scene. There weren't many old residents in the apartment, and he got rid of several of them. I didn't really want to rent it to him, but..."
"I searched the whole house but couldn't find you. The balcony door was also closed. I thought you ran away by yourself. Ahem..." It had been a long time since he talked so much. The old man coughed excitedly. "But Zhongyan can't be left there forever. It will affect the neighbors in the apartment..."
"I moved him away and dumped him on a random street. There were many people who froze to death outside after drinking too much, and no one knew he was the drunkard from the Ichinose family... A beast like that shouldn't be alive... He harmed so many people... Misako, so pitiful - where's Saku? Saku, you're not at home? Are you with Misako? Run away, don't come back - don't blame your mother, she can't take you away..."
The old man's mind began to become confused again. Date Kou took two steps back and let his grandson, who was agitated by his grandfather, come forward to check. "Ah..." The landlord's cloudy eyes met Edogawa Conan. The old man grinned and showed a light smile to the boy, "Misako, today's dinner is oden..."
"It looks like Tadahiko won't be back today."
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